Tannehill was born in Lubbock, Texas, but grew up in Big Spring, Texas. He attended Big Spring High School, where he played high school football, high school basketball, and ran on the track and field team.[2] He played 10 games as a defensive back his sophomore season. As a junior, he passed for 2,510 yards and rushed for 922 at quarterback. He took his team to the playoffs as a senior, passing for 5,258 yards and rushing for another 617. He had to miss two games due to a separated shoulder in the second game of his senior year. He also posted three receptions for 62 yards and compiled a 39.2 punt average with a long of 84 yards as a senior. He received second-team District 4-4A honors for both his junior and senior seasons. Ryan Tannehill came out of high school a 3 star recruit according to Rivals.com[3]

In track & field, Tannehill competed in the hurdling and jumping events. At the 2006 District 4-4A Championships, he placed third in the 300m hurdles (41.24 s) and earned a second-place finish in the triple jump event (13.19 m).[4]

Before Tannehill's second season, Mike Sherman took over as head coach. In summer camp, Tannehill competed against veteran quarterback Stephen McGee and redshirt sophomore Jerrod Johnson for the starting quarterback position. He finished third in the contest, behind Johnson and then McGee. Sherman, whose offense utilizes true receivers, moved Tannehill to wide receiver.

In his fifth game, he posted freshman school records of 210 yards on 12 catches.[5] After his six receptions for 78 yards in the Iowa State game, he broke the freshman school records for receptions and receiving yards.[6] Tannehill finished his redshirt freshman season with 844 receiving yards, which was 11 yards shy of breaking Robert Ferguson's record set in 2000.[7][8] He attempted only one pass at quarterback the whole season.[9]

Tannehill had expressed his desire to become the starting quarterback at A&M: "I still think of myself as a quarterback, I still want to be a quarterback here at A&M. Hopefully that's the way it turns out. But if things don't happen that way, and Coach thinks I can better help being a receiver, then I guess I'm okay with that."

During the 2009 offseason, Tannehill and Jerrod Johnson competed for the starting quarterback position; the job was won by Johnson.[10]

Tannehill finished the 2009 season with a team-leading 46 receptions for 609 yards and four touchdowns.[11] About 80% of his 46 catches went for first downs or touchdowns.[12] He picked up All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors for his performance.[13] He only took eight snaps at quarterback the entire season.[9]

Tannehill continued to play wide receiver during the first six games of the 2010 season. Over those six games, he made 11 catches for 143 yards.[14] He attempted 4 passes during the season opener.[15]

He saw extensive action at quarterback during the Kansas game, splitting time with starter Jerrod Johnson. Tannehill finished with 12 completions on 16 attempts for 155 yards and three touchdowns.[16] In his first career start at quarterback, Tannehill led the Aggies to a 45–27 victory over Texas Tech. He set a school record with his 449 passing yards.[17] He also made a 33-yard pooch punt, his first career kick.[18]

Tannehill quarterbacked the Aggies to a victory over No. 11 Oklahoma, which moved the team into the top 25.[19] He helped the team maintain the top 25 ranking through victories over Baylor and No. 9 Nebraska. During the Nebraska game, he punted twice since the starter was injured.[20] He and his team defeated Texas to finish off the regular season. Tannehill was recognized with All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors.[21]

In 2011, Tannehill started all 13 games (including the bowl game) at quarterback for the Aggies and served as team captain. He threw for 3,744 yards and 29 touchdowns, with 15 interceptions.[22] He completed 61.6% of his passes and posted a quarterback rating of 133.2. He also ran for 3 touchdowns. Tannehill lost the final game of the regular season to the University of Texas on Thanksgiving Day.[23]

Tannehill concluded his quarterback career at Texas A&M with a total of 5,450 passing yards 42 touchdown passes and 21 interceptions.[24]

"I have him rated as the 19th best player in the draft, which tells you I don't think he's ready to be a heavy contributor this year. I watched every throw he made on tape this year. All the out-breaking routes are phenomenal. Where he gets in trouble are the in-breaking routes where he stares the receiver down, pats the ball and throws interceptions."

In the 2012 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins selected Tannehill with the 8th overall pick.[27] He was the first quarterback selected by the Dolphins in the first round since Dan Marino went 27th overall in 1983. He became the 17th starting quarterback by the Dolphins since Marino and only the third quarterback taken in the first round in franchise history, after Hall of Famers Bob Griese and Marino.[28] On July 28, 2012, Tannehill signed his four-year rookie contract with the Dolphins worth approximately $12.688 million, with a 5th-year option.[29]

On August 20, 2012, Tannehill was named the starting quarterback for the season opener against the Houston Texans.[30] He finished with 219 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions in the 30–10 loss.[31][32] Two of his three interceptions were tipped at the line of scrimmage by defensive end J. J. Watt of the Texans. In response to Tannehill's performance, Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin stated "We've (also) got to do a better job in (pass) protection, and at times the receivers have to protect the throw from the quarterback. So I would say, as is usually the case, there is a little bit of culpability across the board."[33]

In week 2 of the 2012 NFL season, Tannehill improved dramatically in a 35–13 win over the Oakland Raiders. Tannehill passed for an even 200 yards, with one touchdown and zero interceptions, as well as 14 yards on the ground to go along with one rushing score.[34] Tannehill seemed to fix his tipped ball problem by having zero passes batted down in week 2. By the end of week 3, Tannehill had completed less than 53% of his passes, and also had only 1 touchdown to four interceptions.[35]

In week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals, Tannehill threw for 431 yards,[36][37] surpassing the Dolphins' single-game record for most passing yards by a rookie quarterback, set by Dan Marino in 1983. Tannehill's mark was 1 yard shy of the NFL's single-game passing-yard record by a rookie quarterback, set by Carolina'sCam Newton in 2011. He threw for 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions in the 24–21 overtime loss to the Cardinals.[38] In week 16, Tannehill set a franchise record for longest run by a quarterback by rushing 31 yards in a single play. The previous record was set by Pat White who had a 30-yard run during the 2009 season. During that week 16 game against Buffalo, Tannehill also became the fifth quarterback in team history to surpass 3,000 passing yards in a season.[39]

Tannehill went on to set franchise rookie records for passing yards, attempts, and completions.[40]

In Week 1, Tannehill started his second season on the road against the Cleveland Browns. He went 24/38 for 272 yards a touchdown, an interception, and was sacked 4 times in the 23–10 win.[41] In Week 2, Tannehill and his Dolphins traveled to Indianapolis to take on the offense led by Andrew Luck, also a second-year QB. Tannehill went 23/34 for 319 yards for a touchdown, but he was sacked five times and lost a fumble in the 24–20 win.[42] In Week 3, Tannehill went home for the first time, taking on the Falcons. He went 24/35 for 236 yards for 2 touchdowns, an interception, got sacked 5 times and lost a fumble in the close 27–23 win.[43] He led his team to a 3–0 start for the first time since 2002. In Week 4, the young QB struggled on the road against the Saints. He went 22/35 for 249 yards and also a touchdown pass, but also committed 4 team turnovers as he was intercepted 3 times and lost a fumble. He was sacked 4 times in the 38–17 loss.[44]

In Week 5, he and his team headed back home to take on the Ravens. His team could not hold on after leading 13–6 at halftime. He went 21/40 for 307 yards and threw a touchdown, and was also sacked 6 times in the 26–23 loss.[45] In Week 7, Tannehill went 19/37 for 194 yards and threw 3 touchdown passes, 2 interceptions and lost a fumble while being sacked twice in the 23–21 home loss to the Bills.[46] In Week 8, Tannehill and the Dolphins traveled to Foxborough to take on the Patriots as he went 22/42 for 192 yards throwing 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, losing a fumble, and being sacked 6 times in the 27–17 loss.[47] In Week 9, the Dolphins traveled back home to take on the Bengals. Tannehill went 20/28 for 208 yards with a 1-yard touchdown run despite being sacked 6 times due to the tottering offensive line in the 22–20 win in OT.[48]

In Week 10, the Dolphins traveled to take on the winless Buccaneers. Tannehill went 27/42 for 229 yards while throwing 2 touchdowns, one interception, and two sacks in the 22–19 loss.[49] In week 11, the Dolphins took on the San Diego Chargers at home. Tannehill completed 22 of 35 pass attempts for 268 yards, with one touchdown and one interception in a 20–16 win, despite being sacked 4 times.[50] In week 12, the Dolphins hosted the Panthers in a 20–16 loss. Tannehill got his first of two consecutive 300 yard games, completing 28 out of 42 attempts for 310 yards. He was sacked 3 times.[51] In week 13, the Dolphins were at the New York Jets. For the second consecutive week Tannehill topped the 300 yard mark with 331 yards, going 28 of 43, with 2 touchdowns, one interception, and one sack to notch the 23–3 win.[52]

In week 14, the Dolphins traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers. Tannehill completed 20 of his 33 attempts with 3 touchdowns, one interception, 2 sacks in a 34–28 win.[53] In week 15, the Dolphins hosted the New England Patriots. Tannehill had his best game of the year, going 25 of 37 for 312 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked 4 times in the 24–20 win.[54] In week 16, the Dolphins were on the road to take on the Buffalo Bills. Tannehill followed up his best game with a lackluster performance going 10 of 27 for a paltry 82 yards. He was sacked 7 times in the 19–0 loss.[55] In week 17 the Dolphins hosted the Jets. Tannehill went 20 of 40 for 204 yards, one touchdown, 3 interceptions, and 0 sacks in the 20–7 loss. This was the only regular season game in which Tannehill was not sacked.[56]

Mike Sherman was the Dolphins' offensive coordinator in Tannehill's first two NFL seasons, and was the head coach at Texas A&M when Tannehill played there. However, during the 2014 offseason, the Dolphins hired new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, giving Tannehill a new playbook to learn for the first time since high school.[57][58]

In the season opener against the New England Patriots, Tannehill had 178 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in the 33–20 victory.[59] After the victory over the Patriots, the Dolphins went 6–7 over their next 13 games. In the penultimate game of the regular season against the Minnesota Vikings, Tannehill had a season-high 396 passing yards, four touchdowns, and one interception in the 37–35 victory.[60] The Dolphins lost the regular season finale to the New York Jets to finish 8–8 and miss the playoffs.[61][62]

On May 18, 2015, Tannehill signed a 6-year $96 million contract extension with the Dolphins through the 2020 season, making him an unrestricted free agent in 2021.[63][64] In an October 25, 2015 victory over the Houston Texans, Tannehill became the 64th quarterback in NFL history to post a perfect 158.3 passer rating.[65] In the same game, Tannehill set the all-time NFL record for consecutive completed passes with 25, completing his first 18 passes of the game and the final 7 of his previous game. (In 2018, Philip Rivers & Nick Foles tied his record, but they did it in one game.)[66] Tannehill then had a rough spell: during a Thursday Night game he threw 2 interceptions and 0 touchdowns in a 36–7 loss to the New England Patriots,[67] and in three successive games against the Patriots, Bills[68] and Eagles[69] fumbled one ball in the end zone for an opposition safety.

On December 6, Tannehill became the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 3,000 yards in each of his first four seasons in the league.[citation needed]

On December 15, Tannehill threw for 236 yards and one touchdown in the Dolphins' 31–24 loss to the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. The loss eliminated the Dolphins from the playoff contention for the seventh consecutive year.[70][71]

Overall, in the 2015 season, the Dolphins finished with a 6–10 record and Tannehill finished with 4,208 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.[72][73]

In 2016, after a 1–4 start, the Dolphins won six straight games, and finish the season on a 9–2 run and 10-6 overall.[74] Tannehill played in 13 games, missing three due to injury. With their Week 16 win over the Bills, the Dolphins clinched a winning record and a playoff berth for the first time since 2008.[75][76] Tannehill finished the season with a career-high 67.1 completion percentage, 2,995 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.[77]

On August 3, 2017, Tannehill suffered an injury to his left leg in the team's first non-contact 11-on-11 practice of season. After limping off the field, it was reported that the team feared he tore his MCL or ACL and would require season-ending surgery.[78] On August 6, the team signed recently retired quarterback Jay Cutler to act as Tannehill's replacement.[79] On August 11, Tannehill agreed to have surgery to repair the torn ACL, officially keeping him out of the 2017 season.[80][81] He was placed on injured reserve the following day.[82]

On March 1, 2018, head coach Adam Gase announced that Tannehill would remain the starting quarterback for the Dolphins.[83]

During Week 1 against the Titans, the game was delayed twice due to lightning storms. In his return from injury, Tannehill finished with 230 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions as the Dolphins won 27–20.[84] In Week 3, Tannehill recorded a 155.3 passer rating and had 289 passing yards and three passing touchdowns in the 28–20 victory over the Oakland Raiders.[85] Tannehill was inactive during the Week 6 game against the Chicago Bears due to a shoulder injury.[86]